Below is a short exposition I put together on social awareness for a friend's college project. I think it is pretty straight forward, but I would love comments for revision, addition, or subtraction. I'm always working on refining my personal understanding of these concepts and I hope to help others.
I will answer this question: How do we defend ourselves? Most people believe that self-defense requires a weapon, years of training, or the intervention of an outside force. However, self-defense starts with you! There are three main ideas that umbrella many of the other important aspects that you need to remember to protect yourself: being aware of your surroundings, being aware of your body, and being aware of other peoples' bodies. I start with these three main ideas because of my experience as a martial artist. I have been training in martial arts, namely Taekwon-Do, for nearly fourteen years. In that time, I have only been in several minor incidences, none of which have come to blood or broken bones. I attribute that not to my training of technique, but to my training of character and awareness. Stopping a fight begins with not allowing it to begin.
Not allowing a fight to begin starts with being aware of your surroundings. If you are in a peaceable environment, then you can maintain a lower level of awareness. You can continue your life as is, walking through the park with friends, strolling through the mall, or going about your place of employment. However, in the case that you are at the movies, in a public restroom, or at a crowded fair you must maintain a high level of awareness. The fact that the prior situations noted involve more people, sometimes in tighter quarters, raises the probability of two people coming together in a violent scenario. Keeping your eyes on all exits in the lobby and theater, shying away from using the furthest stall from the exit, and distancing yourself from larger groups of people decreases your chances from creating or engaging an altercation.
This principle requires that your eyes, ears, and nose be working at all times. You must watch for exits: knowing where the open and locked doors are is crucial; even if you cannot get through, that does not mean that someone cannot come from the other side. You must listen for crowd interaction: the tone of the crowd can tell you if the environment is okay or if you can expect for situations to escalate quickly. As well, if the crowd is overall louder that will force people interacting within crowds to become louder in the case of an altercation. If a crowd suddenly becomes silent, you must immediately switch to emergency response: this quick switch often indicates a fight, an injury, or a surprising occurrence. Lastly, your nose will alert you to plenty of factors that can save you trouble. If you smell smoke, there are obvious implications. If you are on the streets or in a closed environment and you smell urine, you must be aware that there is someone in proximity that does not have the respect or wherewithal to control their faculties. If you smell alcohol or marijuana, you should be aware that people you are interacting with are impaired and will be harder to handle if anything escalates.
Now, as you operate and focus on your surroundings, you noticed should have noticed that this awareness requires acute use of your senses. Beyond this application of your sensory receptors, you must utilize them corporately to be aware of the condition of your own body. When you are in a crowd, you must feel the locations on your own body that are vulnerable to pick-pocketing or surprise attacks. Most people believe that this means they must ‘watch their back’ but in doing that they are actually distracting themselves from watching a full 360 degrees. Veteran thieves can steal your wallet from all angles because they do not merely try to stay out of your sight but they employ tactics of distraction and disorientation. Therein lies the application: by using our awareness of surroundings, we can better judge in the moment how to focus our senses to keep a lock on our own condition, which will bolster our preventative measures. Another aspect to knowing your own body is being aware of your actual physical condition. Are you tired? Do you have an injury that might hamper your abilities in a fight or while running? Have you been on your feet for a long time? Did you eat recently? Is the noise around you disorienting? Can you see well? All of these questions, and more, will help you know your condition and be best prepared to react in the event of an altercation.
In light of our self-awareness principles, we finally come to the awareness of others. I learned this principle not through my years of martial arts experience, even though it is evident in the martial arts training; I learned it from my parents while learning to drive. My mother told me of how her father taught her to drive: “while driving, pay attention to the road, yes. But more importantly, pay attention to what the other drivers on the road are doing: is she on a cell phone- is he drinking his first or fifth cup of coffee- does she have four kids in the car- is he late for work?” The application here requires a constant observation of the well-being of your fellow man. These ideas are to be applied in all of the scenarios previously detailed, as well as any others that you find equivalent to them: is anyone around you overtly stressed- do you notice any persons having trouble controlling their actions- can you tell if the demeanor of the person in front of you at line is calm or volatile- do you see anyone pacing- has anyone entered and left your establishment several times without cause? Asking yourself these questions allows you to actively engage your environment.
With all that has been said so far, I hope that you do not write me off as paranoid. Paranoia comes with a distinct level of anxiety that inhibits natural function. In providing you with these principles, I am hoping that you keep these concepts in mind but that you do not dwell on them incessantly. Yes, when I am in a restroom I watch all of the mirrors and look in glossy tiling to make sure I know who is in the room. When I am walking through a crowd I look at my own feet and at my waste level more than I do at where I am going. However, these actions do not describe paranoia: they describe healthy awareness. As I said, if I can preempt a fight, see an altercation initiate, or be able to lead others away from an area as a first response, then I am more likely to keep myself and others out of danger.
At this point, you may be hoping for some self-defense silver bullet to accumulate out of these three principles. I regret to disappoint you. However, if you are interested in utilizing these concepts for your betterment then I prompt you to seek out training in the martial arts so that you can strengthen your physical abilities and your mental acuity. If you keep these principles in mind and then compound them with the techniques and prowess instilled through martial arts, then you can become one of the best prepared civilians to respond in intense situations.
